Summary
Previous research indicates that immune related adverse events are more prevalent among White patients compared to some patients of color and are linked to improved outcomes for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (advNSCLC) receiving immunotherapy. However, prior studies are limited by bias or small samples. This study assessed associations between real-world adverse events (rwAEs) and survival by race/ethnicity in a large immunotherapy treated advNSCLC cohort.
The study analyzed nearly 34,000 patients, including Latinx, non-Latinx (NL) Black, NL Asian, and NL White patients, treated with immunotherapy between 2015 and 2023. Having at least one documented rwAE was associated with better survival outcomes for all racial/ethnic groups. On average, Latinx and non-Latinx Black patients had fewer documented rwAE but had better survival than White patients.
Why this matters
Understanding how treatments impact different racial and ethnic groups is critical to addressing current health inequities across cancer care. This study supports previous work showing that equitable access to immunotherapy can mitigate survival inequities among patients with NSCLC. Future research should further explore pathways underlying the association between adverse events and survival among racial/ethnic groups on immunotherapy.